<p>Explosives and rocket fuel are just two prime examples of energetic materials, compounds that contain a combustible fuel and oxidizer within the same substance. Recent advances have enabled the construction of energetic materials through multiple variations of additive manufacturing, principally inkjet, direct-write, fused filament fabrication, electrospray deposition, and stereolithography. Many of the methods used for creating multiple layered objects (three-dimensional) from energetic materials involve the use of highly viscid materials.</p> <p>The focus of this work was to design a process capable of additively manufacturing three-dimensional objects from melt-castable energetic materials, which are known for their low viscosity. An in-depth printer design and fabrication procedure details the process requirements discovered through previous works, and the adaptations available and used to construct an additive manufacturing device capable of printing both energetic and non-energetic (also referred to as inert) melt-castable materials. Initial characterization of three proposed inert materials confirmed their relative similarity in rheological properties to melt-castable energetic materials and were used to test the printer’s performance.</p> <p>Preliminary tests show the constructed device is capable of additively manufacturing melt-castable materials reproducibly in individual layers, with some initial successful prints in three-dimensions, up to three layers. An initial characterization of the printer’s deposition characteristics additionally matches literature predictions. With the ability to print three-dimensional objects from melt-castable materials confirmed, future work will focus on the reproducibility of multi-layered objects and the refined formulation of melt-castable energetic materials.</p>

With the emergence of modern technologies in manufacturing processes, companies need to adapt themselves to these technologies to stay competitive. Additive Manufacturing is one of the upcoming technologies which will bring major changes to the manufacturing process. AM (Additive Manufacturing) offers flexibility in design, production size, customization, etc., Even though there are numerous advantages from the implementation of AM technologies less than 2% of the manufacturing industries use them for production. The purpose of the thesis was to study the impact of AM on manufacturing industries in 5-10 years and the barriers it is facing for widespread diffusion. Additionally, its impact on Sustainability aspects is also studied. A literature review was conducted to understand the current AM processes, their applications in different manufacturing sectors, their impact on business strategies, operations, and Product Life cycle. From the study, it was concluded that AM technologies are still in their maturing state and has a lot of uncertainties that it must overcome. The most notable barriers being implementation costs, limited materials, and protection of Intellectual property. The thesis also presents the projection for AM in 2030. AM is advantageous for Environmental and Economic sustainability with very little research on Societal sustainability.

Electroactive polymers are a class of materials capable of reallocating their shape in response to an electric field while also having the ability to harvest electrical energy when the materials are mechanically deformed. Electroactive polymers can therefore be used as sensors, actuators, and energy harvesters. The parameters for manufacturing flexible electroactive polymers are complex and rate limiting due to number of steps, their necessity, and time intensity of each step. Successful additive manufacturing processes for electroactive polymers will allow for scalability and flexibility beyond current limitations, advancing the field, opening additional manufacturing possibilities, and increasing output. The goal for this research was to use additive manufacturing techniques to print conductive and dielectric substrates for building flexible circuits and sensors. Printing flexible conductive layers and substrates together allows for added creativity in design and application.